1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to hunting gear, and specifically relates to a hunting decoy that is self-balancing while freestanding, replicates a prey animal and is used to attract live prey to its vicinity, so, a closely stationed hunter may shoot the prey with a firearm.
2. Description of Prior Art
Decoys have long been used in the sport of hunting. When used in conjunction with call devices that simulate vocal sounds normally made by prey animals such as turkeys and pheasants, decoys are particularly useful in luring live prey near both them and awaiting hunters. Many conventional decoys have bodies and appendages comprised of rigid material, such as hard plastic, that are molded and decorated to simulate a particular animal species. However, while many such decoys might bear indistinguishable resemblances to real prey, the size of a typical rigid bodied, non-collapsible turkey decoy, for example, makes it inconvenient for a hunter to carry while walking throughout the hunting area in quest of a suitable location to set the decoy for use. For obvious reasons, a non-collapsible decoy may not lend itself to being stashed inside the hunter's clothes pocket, backpack, knapsack or other carrying accessory. The inconvenience is compounded by the hunter's need to haul multiple of these non-collapsible decoys. Therefore, it is generally true that rigid bodied, non-collapsible decoys are burdensome for the hunter to transport while hunting.
Further, in order to mount them on the ground in an upright and life-like posture, many conventional land animal decoys have stakes extending downward from their bodies where legs would normally be attached. These stakes must be driven into the soil in order to anchor these decoys in the upright position on the ground. U.S. Pat. No. D437,382 to Krise et al. shows a design for a inflatable turkey decoy that, ostensibly, must be staked to the ground in similar fashion.
Others land animal decoys have bodies mounted on supporting platforms designed to rest on top of the ground. U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,552 to Anders, III discloses a turkey decoy mounted on a stand, of sorts, that is to be gently placed on the ground's surface. U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,440 to Summers et al. discloses a decoy having a body mounted on a carriage for movement along the ground.
Regardless of the particular mechanisms employed for setting previous land decoys in desired postures on the ground, a hunter using one of these decoys must follow nearly the same routine in all cases. First, he must either manually place the decoy upright on top of the ground or stake the decoy to the ground in a proper posture at a spot in the hunting area that is within shooting range of the place at which he will wait for prey to arrive. Then, he must walk away from the set decoy to his waiting place. Once there, he must minimize his body movements and otherwise camouflage himself; approaching prey will tend to flee the scene upon detecting human presence. Therefore, when live prey does enter the hunter's vicinity, he likely will have little or no opportunity to walk back to his decoy in order to reposition it such that the decoy is more prone to be noticed by and attract an unsuspecting prey animal and make the prey an easier shooting target.
Furthermore, a hunter, often, will walk within the vicinity of his prey without noticing the prey until the last moment. In those instances, it would be beneficial to the hunter if he could simply toss a decoy away from himself to the ground and then remain still, rather than having to carefully sit the decoy upon the ground or stake the decoy into the ground and then retreat from it.
Accordingly, it can be appreciated that there exists a need for a hunting decoy that can assume and maintain an upright and balanced posture on the ground, without careful manual manipulation, even after being projected airborne. It also can be appreciated that there exists a further need for such a decoy to be inflatable and collapsible for efficient transporting. The present invention substantially fulfills these needs.
The present invention is drawn to a hunting decoy that a hunter can toss or drop, from either ground level or an elevated hunting position, to a spot on the ground and does not further require the hunter to manually rest, anchor or otherwise prop the decoy into a posture simulating that of a live prey animal. The applicant is unaware of any prior invention for a self-balancing hunting decoy that is comprised of an air inflatable upper portion shaped in the form of a prey animal's head and body (e.g., turkey, pheasant, quail, etc.) and a semispherical lower portion, removably adjoined by hook and loop fastener material, that holds a ballasting agent, such as a ball bearing(s), water or sand, as is disclosed in the present invention.